You sure you own a genuine Yonex?

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REAL OR FAKE?: Wan Ahmad (left) examining two badminton racquets after Christina (right) demonstrated how Yonex conducts auntheticity tests.

KUCHING: One out of four shops selling Yonex products here was found to be selling counterfeit!

State Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry (KPDNKK) director Wan Ahmad Uzir Wan Sulaiman announced the discovery at a press conference during the ministry’s Hari raya gathering here yesterday.

“After raiding four shops last month, we found one that sold counterfeit Yonex goods, which included racquets, jerseys, shoes and socks.

“Under the Trade Descriptions Act 2011, those found guilty of selling counterfeit goods can be fined up to RM1,000 or three years’ jail.”

Wan Uzir voiced his worry that the imitation goods might be sold at the original prices.

“Ordinary consumers may not be able to differentiate between genuine and counterfeit, and they may be paying a high price for the counterfeit.

“However, the ones we seized were sold at very cheap prices.”

He pointed out that imitation items were very rampant in the market and it was not up to KPDNKK to certify whether the products were genuine or counterfeit.

“If there is no complaint from the owners, we cannot do anything as we have no authority to certify a certain brand.

“In this case, we received complaints from Yonex so we went down to check. After that, we got them in to certify.”

Authorised Yonex distributor for the region Sunrise & Co’s assistant legal manager Christina Suarez Molino was also present at the press conference.

She demonstrated how Yonex conduct authenticity tests on holograms that are on the products in order to determine whether they are genuine or not.

“The best way to avoid counterfeit goods is to buy from authorised dealers,” she advised.

Wan Uzir said the total amount of the Yonex seizure was RM2,410.50.

“As of Sept 12, we had a total of 136 counterfeit cases worth RM2.6 million. Most cases involved jerseys, including some Adidas jerseys we seized in Bintulu last week,” he revealed.